in the first place
Idioms-
From the beginning, at the outset, before anything else. For example, Why didn't you tell me in the first place that you've decided to leave? or He could have bought a new one in the first place .
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As the first of several items in order of importance. This phrase is usually accompanied by in the second place, third place , and so on, as in I'm not joining the health club because, in the first place, I don't like their hours, and in the second place, I can't afford the dues . [First half of 1600s] Also see for one .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
More importantly, he had to answer a deceptively difficult question: Why would anyone follow Lestat in the first place?
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 20, 2026
In short, this relationship reflected something real and causal, not just that badly governed firms were more likely to tolerate such connections in the first place.
From Salon • Jun. 20, 2026
Tech companies have been pressed to make their platforms safer, and broadly they have failed, or not put in that much effort in the first place.
From Slate • Jun. 18, 2026
Can graduates still expect to earn sufficiently more than those without a degree to cover the cost of going in the first place?
From BBC • Jun. 15, 2026
The only people who weren’t mad were the Herdmans, because when the cat finally came home, it was all clean and fluffy from the shaving lather, and that’s what they wanted in the first place.
From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
